Karunanidhi warns Centre

Says if violence does not stop, he will convene DMK executive committee

Charging the Centre with doing little to stop violence directed against Tamils in Kerala in the backdrop of the Mullaperiyar dam dispute, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday warned that if this situation continued, he would convene the party's executive committee to take an appropriate decision.

Responding to queries from reporters at the DMK headquarters here about incidents on the State's border with Kerala, Mr. Karunanidhi said, “Reports are coming in that violence directed against those from Tamil Nadu are continuing. The Kerala government has not come forward to stop the attacks. Nor has the Centre, which has a duty to prevent such incidents, come forward to do so.” If the situation continued, the DMK would convene its executive committee and arrive at an appropriate decision, said Mr. Karunanidhi, a key partner in the United Progressive Alliance running the coalition at the Centre.

Asked to explain the party's stand on the dam dispute, the DMK leader said his stand had been spelt out in his recent letter to retired Chief Justice A.S. Anand, who heads the Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, two days ago. In that letter, he recalled, he had appealed to him not to accept Kerala's proposal to reduce the storage level of the Mullaperiyar dam from 136 feet to 120 feet and instead, the Supreme Court's 2006 verdict, directing the raising of the level to 142 feet, be implemented.

Further, the needless panic and fear sought to be instilled in the people's mind by the actions of the Kerala government should be immediately halted. He had also sought security by Central paramilitary forces for the Mullaperiyar dam, instead of leaving it to the Kerala police, Mr. Karunanidhi recalled. “These remarks constitute the DMK's stand as of today,” he added.